Monday, June 5, 2017

A for Average...

This morning, I read a very nice article on the editorial page of the Indian express . What impressed me most was that it was written by a 17 year old boy. It was both entertaining and engaging and had a piece of his soul in it.But the best part, was that he'd written about why it's okay to be an average person.

This article has been strangely cathartic to me ever since I read it this morning.It has inadvertently revealed my blind spot to me.I am Average. There. I said it. All of a sudden, a lot of hitherto unexplained phenomena specific to my life have started making sense.

It is said that we are the sum Average of the 5 people we spend our maximum time with.I have been in the company of the studious, the fun-loving and the jerk kinds. And every association has managed to run some of itself on my being.

Cut to today, I don't have the same friends or acquaintances as before.Heck, I don't really have any friends. My Facebook friend list is a farce and instagram and twitter followers are the characters of the satire called "My Life".

Of course, there is the ever dependable family- husband and daughter. All my skills as a polyglot is lost on them. 5 languages and I still don't get through to them.

My parents, of course, are in a league of their own.They have done their job in the way they knew best - by not letting us suffer. Hence, the life lessons I should have probably learned a good 15 years ago are watching and waiting patiently for me.

One of the most profound sayings I have ever heard is - 'in order to shine like the sun, be prepared to burn like one'. It makes complete sense except that personally, I have never been willing to burn. Yeah hard work has never been my thing.

I have always just done enough to get by. 10th std. was a breeze. It was in my 12th that I first realised that I had a blind spot. But in the god gifted wisdom, I deduced that it is something to do with my stars and time, and not the obvious lack of hard work.

I knew I was goofing off. I'd discovered my lifelong frenemy - procrastination. Right before I made any life altering decisions, she'd arrive, to seduce me with her temptations and instant gratification. The candle light of activity that was lit bright, sways to her whims and fancies, and I lose the first of a million such games of desire.

Happiness is found in the simple things. But does simple translate into lazy? Well, that's what I believed, or rather, decided to believe.

So while I wasn't putting in the effort, I decided praying fervently to an all seeing almighty isn't a bad idea, seeing as someone needed to cover up for my lack of work.Big mistake.

The thing about hard work is that it's a misnomer. The work in itself is not hard if your effort is sincere. It requires persistence and practice. The true mark of hard work is when the work done gives you satisfaction. It is not a chore to get rid off, but a stimulant to your brain cells. Something you can do for hours together and wouldn't even realise that it took you that time.

You would finish your work and have a smile of satisfaction, job satisfaction.

I haven't smiled that smile in a very long time. Yeah, it's about time to pull up these Average socks and start working towards being exceptional and irreplaceable.

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